Panacea
by Mugen7
Summary: [AU One-shot] What form of solution is there for the girl who is unable to help herself?


**Panacea**

**Written by Mugen7**

* * *

_She breathed slowly. Unmoving and on the cusp of sleep and consciousness, the young girl felt extremely tired, and very lonely._

_There was something wrong with her. She could feel some sort of contamination circulating through herself, one that inflicted a great deal of pain; blistering heat burning her from the inside. She tried to cast her magic, but did so in vain; the girl was severely low on prana, and what little she possessed, the contamination disrupted its flow, as well as her focus._

_With great difficulty the girl tried to move about, but all she could manage was a twitch here and there. And the more she struggled the more she debilitated herself.  
By the second the girl grew increasingly frightened. Helpless and imprisoned in a disabled shell that was still highly sensitive to the pain wrought throughout it, the girl cried as she began to asphyxiate, the grim severity of her circumstance becoming way too much to take in. And as her mind was being stretched thin, the girl started to lose what little cognizant thought she had, and with her motionless form quickly becoming bereft of life, the burrow of desolation was nearing in wait encapsulate her entirely._

_But then the girl's immobile form was shaken by a powerful jolt; electrifying! Mouth agape, she gasped silently from the sheer suddenness of the shock which was allied by a stronger force that'd been shot through her, penetrating her through the chest; filling and spreading all round. The abruptness of the surge made the girl an emotional rollercoaster, but just as quickly as the instability had occurred, an amicable, spiritual sensation promptly calmed the her down, bringing an immediate sense of relief. And that's when she saw **it**. A vibrant, bluish green light that saturated her sight; its bright tone, that of the colour turquoise. The colour's vital force gladdened the young girl with an all-encompassing gentle caress as it relieved her. She could now breathe with total ease and even think better; thoughts clear and agile. The searing pain she'd once felt was cooled down completely; like dousing a flame with water; and even her energy, at its critical low, was being fully restored and made to channel through her with improved circulation._

_Without own intent, the girl's magic had been cast. Stimulated by the profound healing agency of the blue-green tone, the young girl's own healing ability came into affect, working alongside the spiritual force to rejuvenate and expunge what lingered of the fatalistic impurities from her system._

_As she laid relaxed, comforted and uplifted in an oasis of serenity, the girl started to notice something... other, about the hospitable energy. It was like an open line of communication. She could intimately feel a strong mix of emotions being expressed through the sea of turquoise, each one linked to an origin._

_Wholly compelled to find it, the girl reached out with her spirit, following the fetters back to their source. __As though underwater she swam, driven by intense yearning, climbing higher and higher through the reservoir and feeling the strength of each emotion intensify... till she came about the presence of a glowing orb of white light._

_..._

_She prodded it. The ball was firm, with enough pliancy that it yielded beneath her touch. The ball then acted impulsively, and the girl cradled the white orb as it forcibly pressed itself up against her in retaliation for being nudged. It fidgeted as she held it, fussing like a temperamental youngster and persistent in trying to break away. This saddened the girl, yet seemingly receptive to her upset, the white orb relented with what could only be described as terse "puff of air", and allowed itself to be drawn back in, coddling the girl with affection._

**...**_**n…?**_

_The girl sensed a distinctive strong will radiated from the orb, and with a prolonged embrace, she became more attuned to its essence, recognizing the intrinsic nature from within._

_**...**__**en…!**_

_The cardinal verve... It was unmistakable._

_**...**__**end…!**_

_This-_

_**Wendy!**_

* * *

Eyes flew open! Wendy gasped once again with life and tentatively rose, sitting upright. She held a hand to her chest, fingers reflexively tracing her sternum through her attire for a supposed "bullet hole", only to find none.

Slowly breathing out a long soft sigh, the girl took in her surroundings. She "awoke" to find herself in a forest filled with lush greenery. A large crystal clear spring could be seen at a distance, sparkling whilst highlighted by rays of sunlight that shone down at an angle, and bordering the area resided were a vast network of trees that stretched high up into the sky, looming overhead, with thick, long vines hanging from branches and latticing their trunks. And a widespread of above ground roots covered in moss ran all across the space of the woodland.

The forest was plentiful. Full of life and grandeur. But there was a great deal of age to it, Wendy noticed. It was long-lived... Ancient.

"Hey."

A hand pressed itself against her back. Wendy whirled around with a start, and met the sharp green eyes of her raven-haired kin.

"Gajeel...!"

Said Dragon Slayer smirked, eyes gleeful momentarily till his expression softened altogether, a subtle hint of concern being read.

"You feelin' alright?" he asked. "Had me worried there for a moment."

Almost sounding like a cheep, Wendy moaned in affirmation. She felt marvellous; strong, light and full of spirit. Such an uplift was similar to the effects of her own enchantments.

"What... happened?" Wendy asked, confusion written over her face.

"You were poisoned?" Gajeel answered immediately.

Her nose crinkled. "How?"

"A Rathalos managed to scratch ya while we were tryin' to stop a turf war between it and another monster."

Wendy went into deep thought. Yes... she remembered now. She remembered Gajeel, herself, and their Exceeds all being together on a job, working someplace else in the forest and aiding a small team of researchers conduct their investigation into the environment. But somewhere along the way everyone had been spontaneously swept up into the territorial conflict between the aforementioned creature and a dark, massively imposing other that relentlessly attacked its airborne adversary. Gajeel and herself acted in haste, taking on the ferocious pair whilst biding time for Lily and Carla to lead the research party to safety.

"Rathalos are tricky to deal with," spoke the male slayer. "Cunning bastard took ya by surprise before you were able to finish it off for good."

Guileful as it was fierce. The fiery wyvern came close to eviscerating her a couple times, yet all it managed to do in the end was scratch her, just like Gajeel had said; a graze, but one that served its purpose regardless. A lethal dose of venom had entered her system, gradually weakening and harming her as the fight dragged on.

Wendy unconsciously brought her hand to her thigh. A thin scar now marred her skin... but that was okay. She could live with that; better to have a small imperfection than to wind up dead.

"Gi hee!" Gajeel smiled at her with a broad grin and ruffled her hair. "Well done on slayin' a **King of the Skies**, Aura. Knew ya could pull it off."

Wendy bowed her head and gave off a small smile, cheeks turning rosy pink. She saw the pride in Gajeel's eyes and was heartened by his praise, as well as flattered by his term of endearment for her.

"Thank you."

As the Dragon Slayer withdrew his hand, Wendy quickly noticed a stark difference in the tone of his arm. She eagerly seized it, and took note of the alluring, reddish brown colour.

Taken aback by her rapid forwardness for his part, Gajeel eyed Wendy for a moment through pause before trying to grab her attention. Too absorbed in her appraisal however, the sorceress did not hear the him. Wendy sat marvelled at what she was seeing; it was new, it was _definitely_ something new! All over, the Dragon Slayer's arm, no, arms, were covered in rich, coppery scales with a warm metallic lustre, partly dyed with a... blue-green tinge.

"..."

As Wendy kept focus, she felt the familiar cadence of spiritual energy; the same, amicable kind that soothed and succoured her in her time of peril.

A light bulb went off in her head.

"It was you...!" she whispered, "You healed me!" then exclaimed, regarding the Dragon Slayer with abject wonderment.

"Yeah." Gajeel replied, straight-faced.

The sorceress shuffled closer to him, pleasantly intrigued by the higher degree of commonality they now shared. "I didn't know you had the ability to heal!"

Gajeel shrugged, as though the lack of mention wasn't an issue.

"That's 'cause I never bothered to show it off to ya."

Wendy was mystified. In all the time she'd known him, not once had Gajeel hinted at being capable of using a _H__ealing __A__rt_.

"Am I the first person you've healed?" She asked, but had her doubts. Surely the other guild members knew about this affinity of his?

"Third," the man confirmed.

"Who-"

"V and Lily." He furthered his response, following her train of thought.

Wendy nodded. She suspected as much.

"Does the rest of the guild know?"

They had to have known. Right? Gajeel had already been a member by the time she joined. Did he administer any healing on their guildmates before she came into the picture? She assumed he must have.

"As if," the Dragon Slayer scoffed, standing to his feet, turning and moving away from her. "I don't heal just anyone kiddo."

Wendy cocked her head to the side, curious about slayer's claim. She stared at his back, hard; face adopting a serious frown. Their guild wasn't made up of "just anyone". Everybody there was important, so why exclude them and give Lily, Juvia and herself preferential treatment?

"Let's hurry up and meet with the others. We've still got a job to finish."

Copper scales started to wear away. And as Wendy watched intently as they dissolved into bluish green magic particles, she was stricken with clarity; dawning realization mollifying her tension.

She held a hand over her heart, and closed her eyes. Searching. There had been a lasting impression from the healing; the connection between them present even now. Wendy was able sense it, the mix of emotions leaked from the white orb, from Gajeel himself; all emblematic of his emotional state throughout the course of him curing her.

Wendy felt his grief; she sensed the fear that ushered from witnessing her sudden collapse and discovering what ailed her so dangerously, scared out of his mind that she might _actually_ die. She felt the anger he directed solely at himself; while Wendy would be quick to place the blame on herself for not reacting fast enough to fully avoid the apex predator's strike, Gajeel would criticise himself for not being observant enough to predict the monster's oncoming assault and alert her in time to evade; even though he was busy with handling the enormous brute that rampaged tirelessly, trying to devour them all, deep-rooted independence swayed Gajeel to try and handle everything on his own.

But for all the negative emotions Wendy witnessed, Gajeel's positives were just as clear-cut. She felt the dregs of his excitement from their clash against the powerful creatures, and the jollity of being able to "have fun" with her at his side as well as being pleased with how self-possessed she was throughout such an intense struggle. She experienced his fierce determination and conviction; putting his all into saving her life, and upon overcoming his fear for her well-being, firmly believed that she'd survive. She felt his familial comfort and reassurance; emboldening her to cast away her own fears and entrusting her safety to a foreign power that evidently brought peace and balance to her mind, body and soul. But the more importantly, the most unconditional emotion he portrayed... is what consoled and aided her most.

"I'm sorry to have worried you so much." Wendy apologized, smiling benignly at the raven-haired male.

"What would I be worried about?" Gajeel tossed her a wave, replying with a non-committal tone. "Stay alert..." he started to walk, "don't want ya goin' through that again."

His quiet utterance at the end was not lost on her. Wendy sprang to her feet and moved to intercept the slayer.

"What?" He questioned, staring down at the girl with a raised brow. However Wendy said absolutely nothing. She simply stood before him, smile serene, and eyes mirroring warmth and understanding.

Gajeel was a private man. He could be expressive, sure, but he always tended to avoid revealing too much. But by using his power – his ability to heal – the man had opened his heart, and exposed himself completely; a period of vulnerability for himself where everything was laid bare, where the recipient of his cure-all had the chance to see – _feel _– everything. To witness the man behind the metal.

Gajeel huffed, patience wearing thin.

"Kid, just drop the silence and say whatever it is you have to-" Before completing his sentence Wendy jumped forward, catching the slayer off guard with a strong hug.

Gajeel stood stiff, firmly rooted in place and subjected to the spirited affection of the girl who nuzzled her face against his torso.

"Wha...!?"

Wendy lifted her head and looked directly at him, retaining the same smile from earlier.

"I love you too, big bro... And thank you, for saving my life."

Gajeel's heart skipped a beat, and seemingly he lost his voice. Not trusting himself to look at her, he turned his head elsewhere and coughed into his fist by poor attempt at trying to circumvent his diffidence.

Wendy grinned, carolling the man's trademark laugh in her own genial fashion. The male always tried to uphold the guise of an impregnable iron fortress that couldn't be fazed (though admittedly failing miserably in comedic situations). He may be tempered black steel on the surface, but beneath it all was a sensitive man; a big, soft and gooey man with a heart of gold. His copper scales were indicative of that truth, and Wendy was but one of three individuals who knew just how tender the Dragon Slayer truly was.

"Um..." Red-faced, Gajeel squirmed, wanting to break away from the girl, "you can let go now."

Wendy would have none of it. She strongly expressed her displeasure by using an enchantment to raise her already elevated strength further to keep the man in check. And Gajeel, with a groan, relented; having the sense to know he was beat.

Paranoid that someone might possibly be watching, Gajeel looked around before hugging Wendy back.

"Don't make this a habit... Ya hear?"

Wendy giggled. Gajeel could be as much of a hard-ass all he liked, but when it came down to it, there was no way he was going to deny his "Aura" giving him a great big hug whenever she pleased from now on.

* * *

**Fin.**


End file.
